TEST PAPER

I. Read through the text below, answer the questions that follow: (3p)

Before the grass has thickened on the roadside, verges and leaves have started growing on the
trees is a perfect time to look around and see just how dirty Britain has become. The pavements
are stained with chewing gum that has been spat out and the gutters are full of discarded fast
food cartons. Years ago I remember travelling abroad and being saddened by the plastic bags,
discarded bottles and soiled nappies at the edge of every road. Nowadays, Britain seems to look
at least as bad. What has gone wrong?
The problem is that the rubbish created by our increasingly mobile lives lasts a lot longer than
before. If it is not cleared up and properly thrown away, it stays in the undergrowth for years; a
semi-permanent reminder of what a tatty little country we have now.
Firstly, it is estimated that 10 billion plastic bags have been given to shoppers. These will take
anything from 100 to 1,000 years to rot. However, it is not as if there is no solution to this. A few
years ago, the Irish government introduced a tax on non-recyclable carrier bags and in three
months reduced their use by 90%. When he was a minister, Michael Meacher attempted to
introduce a similar arrangement in Britain. The plastics industry protested, of course. However,
they need not have bothered; the idea was killed before it could draw breath, leaving
supermarkets free to give away plastic bags.
What is clearly necessary right now is some sort of combined initiative, both individual and
collective, before it is too late. The alternative is to continue sliding downhill until we have a
country that looks like a vast municipal rubbish tip. We may well be at the tipping point. Yet we
know that people respond to their environment. If things around them are clean and tidy, people
behave cleanly and tidily. If they are surrounded by squalor, they behave squalidly. Now, much
of Britain looks pretty squalid. What will it look like in five years?

Q1 - The writer says that it is a good time to
see Britain before the trees have leaves
because
Britain looks perfect.
you can see Britain at its dirtiest.
you can see how dirty Britain is now.
the grass has thickened on the verges.
Q2 - According to the writer, things used to
be
worse abroad.
the same abroad.
better abroad.
worse, but now things are better abroad.
Q3 - For the writer, the problem is that
rubbish is not cleared up.
rubbish last longer than it used to.
our society is increasingly mobile.
Britain is a tatty country.
Q4 - Michael Meacher
followed the Irish example with a tax on
plastic bags.
tried to follow the Irish example with a
tax on plastic bags.
made no attempt to follow the Irish
example with a tax on plastic bags.
had problems with the plastics industry
who weren't bothered about the tax.
Q5 - The writer thinks Q6 - The writer thinks that
it is too late to do anything. people are squalid.
we are at the tipping point. people behave according to what they
see around them.
there is no alternative.
people are clean and tidy.
we need to work together to solve the
problem. people are like a vast municipal rubbish
tip.

II. An English-speaking friend wants to spend a two-week holiday in your region

and has written asking for information and advice. Write a letter to your friend
in 80-100 words. In your letter: (3p)

 offer to find somewhere to stay

 give advice about what to do
 give information about what clothes to bring

III. Comment the following statement: “Children today are given too much freedom.”
(200 words) (3p)